"If there is a qualified assistant referee in the stadium, please can they make themselves known?" That was the request made at half-time in Thursday's Continental Cup game between Arsenal Ladies and Reading FC Women following an injury to one of the officials. And just who should happen to be in the ground at Boreham Wood FC? None other than Premier League referee Michael Oliver.

The 30-year-old FIFA referee was in the stands watching the match, refereed by his wife, Lucy. He duly stepped in to run the line for the second half, prompting chants of "there's only one Michael Oliver" from some home fans. And having taken charge of Arsenal and Liverpool's 0-0 Premier League draw at Emirates Stadium on Monday with an attendance of more than 60,000 people, Oliver found himself officiating in front of a crowd of 873. "It was a strange one," Reading boss Kelly Chambers, whose side lost 2-1, told BBC Sport. "It was nice of him to step in and help us. "We needed him; otherwise it could have been a different kettle of fish if we had just anyone taking over." Oliver, who has been eligible to take charge of European internationals since 2012, is set to referee Premier League match between Stoke City and West Brom.

Former FIFA referee Pedro Proenca was removed from the UEFA Referees Committee because he was elected to chair the Portuguese Professional Football League (LPFP), a position deemed incompatible with his functions in the European body. Source close to Pedro Proenca, who had been elected in June for a term of four years, confirmed that the current president of LPFP has been notified of the decision of the UEFA Referees Committee. The main issue is, according to the same source, the incompatibility with Proenca’s election as the new president of LPFP, representing the clubs.

UEFA was displeased to learn that some of the clubs that supported the candidacy of Pedro Proenca as president of the League, and in particular FC Porto and Sporting, defend the draw of the referees. The UEFA Chief Refereeing Officer, Pierluigi Collina, which has a good relationship with the former Portuguese referee, was hardly impressed with the situation. This was an important factor that weighed heavily on Pedro Proenca’removal from the UEFA Referees Committee. The fact that Proenca is now the president of the Portuguese League creates a conflict of interest with a position in the European refereeing body, but the issue of being supported by clubs who defend the draw of the referees worsened the situation that lead to his departure from the upper echelons of the UEFA refereeing.

The legend of world and Argentine football, Diego Maradona, visited Tunisia last weekend for the filming of a commercial for Coca Cola. He met former Tunisian referee Ali Bennaceur, known for having refereed the quarter-final of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico between Argentina and England. In that match, Bennaceur had awarded a goal scored by Maradona with his hand, the goal that everyone remembers as the "Hand of God". Diego Maradona has paid tribute to Ali Bennaceur during his visit to Tunisia by giving him an Argentina shirt autographed "For Ali, my eternal friend!" Bennaceur offered Maradona a framed photo taken before the kick-off in which they were the two protagonists. (Source: Webdo)

Diego Maradona's ‘Hand of God’ effort is one of the most controversial goals in soccer history. In Argentina’s 1986 World Cup quarter final match with England, El Pibe de Oro displayed the brilliance of a player at the peak of his powers and those street urchin tendencies that characterized him throughout his career. Six minutes into the second-half, Maradona passed the ball to Jorge Valdano and continued his run from the left into the England penalty area. The pass was intercepted by Steve Hodge but in trying to clear the ball he skewed it into the penalty area where Maradona had continued his run and England goalkeeper Peter Shilton had come out to meet it. Shilton was favourite to punch the ball clear, however, Maradona reached it first and with the outside of his left fist, knocked it beyond Shilton and into the net. Inexperienced Tunisian referee Ali Bennaceur and his assistant (Bogdan Dotchev, from Bulgaria) did not see the infringement and the goal stood. Terry Fenwick and Glenn Hoddle chased Bennaceur back to the center circle, but their protests fell on deaf ears.

Maradona later said, "I was waiting for my teammates to embrace me, and no one came... I told them, 'Come hug me, or the referee isn't going to allow it". England coach Bobby Robson was in no mood for an embrace. "I saw the ball in the air and Maradona going for it," he was quoted in the Guardian. "Shilton went for it as well but Maradona handled the ball into the net. You don't expect decisions like that at World Cup level". Maradona later claimed it had been scored "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God". That was how the goal would come to be known.

Maradona went from the ridiculous to the sublime as he put his team 2-0 up three minutes later. Receiving the ball from Hector Enrique, just inside his own half, he went past five English defenders - Hodge, Peter Beardsley, Peter Reid, Terry Butcher and Fenwick - before rounding Shilton and sliding the ball in. Valdano was available for a tap in but Maradona finished the move off alone for one of the greatest goals ever scored. Although Gary Lineker netted late on, Argentina held on for a 2-1 win. Tension had surrounded the match because it was the first time the teams had met since the Falklands War, and if the game’s protagonists were playing this down, the media certainly were not. Argentina went on to win the 1986 World Cup, beating West Germany 3-2 in the final, and Maradona was named Player of the Tournament. (Source: World Soccer)

The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) faces a complicated situation after a group of 11 referees and assistant referees filed a lawsuit against their “discriminatory firing”. Each referee demanded a payment of $50,000 for affecting the worker's life and $75,000 for moral damage due to the FMF discrimination. After not being selected for the 2015 Apertura, they did not hesitate to sue FMF and Liga MX for discrimination. The 11 referees and assistant referees who filed the lawsuit are: Fabricio Morales (former FIFA referee, photo), Erim Ramirez (former FIFA referee), Miguel Ayala, Victor Bisguerra, Victor Calderon (former FIFA AR), Mario Alcantara, Obed Gomez, Mario Nieves, Mauricio Moreno, Jose Barraza and Fernando Soto. According to a court publication, the total amount that FMF would pay is $1.5 million, including vacation pay and bonus wages from 1 April to 30 May 2015, coupled with a bi-monthly fee given by the sponsors of the league.

Norway's second highest-ranking FIFA referee Tom Harald Hagen (37), has decided to quit international refereeing. The 37-year-old referee from Hedmark will focus on the Norwegian Premier League rather than international football matches in the future.

“It is a demanding arena, both internationally and here at home, and after an overall assessment, I decided that I want to concentrate on the domestic refereeing. It was clearly a difficult decision, and I had to think seriously about it, because you do not come back once you have said no. It takes time and effort, because the international season it is longer than here, at home, and then you have to dedicate 24 hours a day to refereeing”, continued Hagen, who has refereed internationally for seven years. “I will always remember my international debut at San Siro in Milan. It has been a fun trip, with matches in Europe, World Cup qualifiers and fourth official during the last European Championship”, remembers Hagen. One should represent Norway in a good way, you have to be 100 percent ready and prepared it, which I felt I was not now”, said Hagen. He was placed in UEFA's first category and has been the Norway's second highest rated FIFA referee after Svein Oddvar Moen. He has refereed a number of group matches in the Europa League, and also in the Champions League, states fotball.no. Now he will use the extra time to work in inner Østland association, where he will train new talented referees. The decision came as a surprise to the Head of Norway’s refereeing, Terje Hauge. “Tom Harald Hagen has taken this decision himself. NFF want to ensure that we can develop as many as possible top referees who assert themselves internationally. Therefore, we regret that one of our top referees decided to quit internationally at such a young age, but we respect his decision and of course are pleased that we can benefit from his experience in the Norwegian football for several years”, said Hauge.

UEFA's latest course for additional assistant referees (AARs) highlighted the crucial nature of the role, as well as the success of the system since it was introduced. "Extra pairs of eyes" are giving referees crucial support in making decisions – thanks to the deployment of additional assistant referees (AARs) in UEFA's top club and national team competitions in recent years. UEFA brought 40 match officials who perform this task to Nyon this week for two days of analysis, discussion and training designed to fine-tune and further improve their work in the coming season.

The AAR system, anchored in the Laws of the Game in 2012, involves the match referee, two assistants and fourth official being accompanied by two additional assistant referees – one positioned alongside each goal. The task of the AARs is to watch for penalty-area incidents such as pushing or holding and to decide whether the ball has crossed the goal line for a goal. The system is in operation in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup, as well as the Euro 2016 qualifiers.

UEFA refereeing officers Hugh Dallas and Marc Batta, together with UEFA Referees' Committee member Vladimir Sajn, were in Nyon to lead the course, while UEFA's referee training expert Werner Helsen and his team took sessions featuring exercises and match situations specific to the role of additional assistant referees. Incidents from UEFA games and filmed examples from the training sessions were analysed in detail as part of the course agenda. Areas covered included focus and concentration, positioning, anticipation, correct movement, the need for clear and precise communication at all times and how the match referees and AARs must always strive to nurture high-quality teamwork. UEFA's training for AARs now also includes online and special website preparation though the study of match incidents and situations – affording the AARs important experience and the chance to exchange feedback with UEFA's refereeing officials before they go on the pitch. "We know that the AAR role is proving to be of benefit," said Dallas. The former international referee from Scotland explained that the introduction of AARs had been an important factor in the reduction of potentially match-changing errors, especially as far as penalty-box incidents were concerned. "It is crucial that we get the big decisions correct, which means that AARs need to be totally focused," he said. "AARs' help in identifying infringements in the penalty area is a [role] which needs courage and accuracy. One of the biggest areas where the AAR system has worked," Dallas continued, "is in acting as a deterrent. Players and coaches are aware that another pair of eyes is on the goal line watching for incidents. This deters players from holding, pushing and blocking. We're also seeing a reduction in these types of incidents from free-kicks and corners." Dallas also observed that a positive surprise of the AAR system was the help it was offering not only to referees, but also to assistant referees. "Given that our assistant referees are mainly focused on offside decision judgement, their accuracy in their decision-making has increased greatly," he said. As the new season moves into gear, feedback from referees on the AAR system continues to be positive. "The referees feel comfortable in the sharing of responsibility," Dallas reflected. "The referees and AARs are now viewing the same incident from two different angles – it's giving the referee an additional pair of eyes. This means that there are less reasons for errors of judgement in the penalty area – more eyes means more accuracy".

A Swedish FIFA referee has started a Facebook page in an attempt to “create an understanding for our occupation”. Mohammed Al-Hakim, one of the most promising officials in the Swedish top flight, Allsvenskan, launched his page this month with an admission that he should have given a penalty in the game between IFK Norrkoping and AIK and has been praised for his willingness to discuss contentious decisions. “I believe in openness and dialogue,” Al-Hakim told Fotbollskanalen. “The main idea is that I want to create interest [in our occupation] and I think the football family can gain from getting a better insight and understanding of a referee’s situation. I also want the page to inspire more people to become referees, which is an important part of football. I want to show my side of officiating and want to balance the picture [there is of us] in the media. I want to increase the accessibility in the football family.”

The 30-year-old is one of Sweden’s most promising referees and attended an UEFA course in February as he stepped up his efforts to officiate on the international scene. His page received a lot of attention when it was launched with the sentence: “Keep a good tone here and the chances of this page surviving will increase.” He added of the decision he had got wrong: “I should have given a penalty yesterday. Full stop. Now I have seen what you surely have seen already. I’ve seen the replays a few times and looked at stills and different angles. Because what it is about for me, is that I want to learn something and try to understand why I did what I did. I will never be right all the time but it is important to minimise the mistakes and make sure that I am right in the important moments.” He added: “I have got a lot of positive feedback. Of course, there are some negative voices, but the majority has been very positive. The whole idea is just a test, but the Swedish refereeing committee is in on it. They have agreed that I am doing it”. Few days later… "It became huge. Media called from all over the world and I had to tell them about the initiative and why I thought it was good. The problem was that it became too big, too much, too fast. "I don't have time. It was almost a full-time job to maintain quality on the page and interact with all followers, moderate comments and keep watch. I have two jobs, a family and a refereeing career to think of", says Mohammed Al-Hakim, as he continues: "It is really sad. I got a lot of good feedback, but it doesn't work any more, unfortunately".

Former FIFA World Cup final referee Howard Webb was approached by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation to oversee the improvement and restructuring of refereeing in the Arab state and he has decided to take up the role.

A statement from the Saudi Arabian Football Federation read: "The Saudi Arabian Football Federation is pleased to announce the signing of international officiating expert, Mr. Howard Webb, as the head of the refereeing department in the Federation. Howard Webb was a professional football referee for 12 years, refereeing almost 300 matches in the English Premier League. He was also a FIFA international referee for 10 years and was appointed to referee in nine major tournaments, including the FIFA World Cups in 2010 and 2014. He has taken charge of many high-profile finals, including the English FA Cup Final in 2009 and English League Cup Final in 2007. In 2010 he achieved the unique honour of being appointed as referee for both the UEFA Champions League Final and FIFA World Cup Final and in doing so became the first referee in the history of the sport to take charge of both finals in the same year. He retired from active refereeing in 2014 to take up the position of Technical Director of PGMOL which oversees refereeing matters in the professional game in England and also became a FIFA referee instructor. As head of the Refereeing Department, Mr. Webb will be in charge of developing, training, evaluating, and appointing referees. In addition, Mr. Webb will be responsible for long and short-term strategies and plans to improve refereeing level in the Kingdom. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation would like to take the opportunity to welcome Mr. Webb and wish him the best of luck in his new journey".

Ahead of the 2015/2016 season, the body responsible for reviewing the laws of football, the International FA Board (IFAB), has issued new guidance to match officials around the offside law. The two new points of guidance are an addition to the current interpretation of interfering with an opponent, but do not constitute a change in the Laws of the Game.

The additional IFAB guidance

A player in an offside position shall be penalised if he:

1. clearly attempts to play a ball which is close to him when this action impacts on an opponent or

2. makes an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball.

1. “Clearly attempts to play a ball which is close to him when this action impacts on an opponent”. The first part of the guidance has three elements: clearly attempts to play a ball; close to him; and when this action impacts on an opponent and all three of these elements are required for an offside offence to be committed. Judgement should be based on the physical evidence of the movement and actions of the player in an offside position. Attacking players who clearly attempt to play a ball which is close to them, and in doing so clearly impact on an opponent's ability to play the ball, should be penalised.

2. “Makes an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball”. The second part of the guidance has two elements and both an obvious action and impact are necessary for an offside offence to be penalised. Match officials will have to consider whether an obvious action by an attacking player in an offside position means that the opponent would need to delay his action to wait and see if the attacking player in an offside position touches or plays the ball, and/or, the opponent's movement or ball-playing options are clearly restricted by the movement and/or actions of the attacking player in an offside position.

"Clearly attempts": this wording is designed to prevent a player in an offside position who runs towards the ball from quite a long distance being penalised (unless he gets close to the ball).

"Close": is important so that a player in an offside position is not penalised when the ball goes clearly over his head or clearly in front of him.

"Impacts": applies to an opponent's ability (or potential) to play the ball and will include situations where an opponent's movement to play the ball is delayed, hindered or prevented by the offside player.